Chapter 26 🔊✎

Next to the well, there was an old stone wall. 🔊✎ When I returned from working the next evening, I saw the little prince sitting there, his legs dangling. 🔊✎ I heard him speaking:

“Do n’t you remember then?” he asked. “It’s not here!” 🔊✎

Another voice must have replied, because he said:

“Yes! Yes! It’s today, but you’ve got the wrong place…” 🔊✎

I carried on walking towards the wall. I could n’t see or hear anyone. 🔊✎ But the little prince started speaking again: 🔊✎

“… Of course. You can see where my footsteps start in the sand. 🔊✎ You just need to wait there. I’ll turn up tonight.” 🔊✎

I was twenty metres away from the wall and I still could n’t see anything. 🔊✎ The little prince spoke again, after a silence: 🔊✎

“You’ve got good venom? You’re sure you wo n’t make me suffer long?” 🔊✎

I stopped, my heart in my throat, but I still did n’t understand. 🔊✎

“Now go away,” he said. “I want to get down!” 🔊✎

I looked at the bottom of the wall, and I jumped in the air! 🔊✎ Right in front of me, its head lifted towards the little prince, I saw one of those yellow snakes that can kill you in thirty seconds. 🔊✎ Groping in my pocket for my revolver, I started running. 🔊✎ But as soon as it heard me, the snake recoiled softly back onto the sand, like a jet of water that’s been turned off. 🔊✎ Not even hurrying, it slid between the rocks with a light metallic sound. 🔊✎

I got to the wall just in time to catch the little prince in my arms. His face was as white as a sheet. 🔊✎

“What’s going on? You’ve started talking with snakes?” 🔊✎

I undid the golden scarf he always wore. 🔊✎ I moistened his temples and made him drink some water. 🔊✎ But I did n’t dare ask him anything else. 🔊✎ He looked at me gravely and put his arms around my neck. 🔊✎ I felt his heart beating like that of a bird that’s just been shot. 🔊✎ He said:

“I’m so happy you found what was wrong with your plane. You’ll be able to get home…” 🔊✎

“How did you know that!” 🔊✎

I had just been about to tell him that, against all expectation, my repairs had succeeded! 🔊✎

He did n’t answer my question, but he said:

“Yes, me too. Today, I am also going home…” 🔊✎

And then, sadly:

“It’s much further… it’s much more difficult…” 🔊✎ I felt that something strange and terrible was happening. 🔊✎ I held him in my arms like a little child, but at the same time I felt he was falling into a dark hole, and there was nothing I could do to hold him back. 🔊✎ His serious gaze was lost in the distance:

“I have your sheep. 🔊✎ And the box for the sheep. And the muzzle…” 🔊✎

I waited a long time. Little by little, I felt him starting to warm up. 🔊✎

“Kid, you’ve been scared…” 🔊✎

He’d certainly been scared. 🔊✎ But he said softly:

“I’ll be more scared this evening…” 🔊✎

Once again, I felt frozen by the sensation of something terrible approaching that I could n’t stop. 🔊✎ I could n’t stand the thought that I would never again hear that laughter. For me, it was like a fountain in the desert. 🔊✎

“Kid, I want to hear you laugh again…” 🔊✎

But he said:

“Tonight, the year is up. My star will be exactly over the place where I fell a year ago…” 🔊✎

“Kid, tell me it’s just a bad dream, all this stuff about snakes and agreements and stars…” 🔊✎

But he did n’t answer. 🔊✎ He said:

“What’s important is n’t what you see…” 🔊✎

“You’re right…” 🔊✎

“It’s like with the flower. If you love a flower that’s on a star somewhere, it’s beautiful to watch the sky at night. 🔊✎ All the stars have flowers in them…” 🔊✎

“You’re right…” 🔊✎

“It’s like with the water. The water you gave me to drink was like music, because of the pulley and the rope… you remember… it was so good.” 🔊✎

“You’re right…” 🔊✎

“At night, you’ll look at the stars. 🔊✎ My home is too small for me to show you where it is. 🔊✎ But it’s better like that. 🔊✎ For you, my star will just be one of the stars. 🔊✎ And so you’ll love watching all the stars. They’ll all be your friends. 🔊✎ And then I’m going to give you a present…”

He laughed again. 🔊✎

“Damn! Kid, kid, I love hearing that laugh so much!” 🔊✎

“That’s just what my present is going to be… it’ll be like the water…”

“What do you mean?” 🔊✎

“Stars are different for everyone. 🔊✎ For travellers, stars are guides. 🔊✎ For other people, they’re just little lights. 🔊✎ For scientists, they’re problems. 🔊✎ For my businessman, they’re money. 🔊✎ But all of these stars are silent. You will have stars that no one else has…” 🔊✎

“What do you mean?” 🔊✎

“When you watch the sky at night, because I live on one of those stars, because I’m laughing on one of those stars, for you it will be like all the stars are laughing. You’ll have stars that can laugh!” 🔊✎

And he laughed again. 🔊✎

“And when the pain goes away (the pain always goes away in the end) you’ll be happy that you knew me. 🔊✎ You’ll always be my friend. 🔊✎ You’ll always want to laugh with me. 🔊✎ And sometimes you’ll open your window, like that, just because it feels good. Your friends will be pretty surprised to see you laughing as you look at the sky. 🔊✎ So you’ll tell them: “Oh yeah, the stars always make me laugh!” And they’ll think you’re crazy. 🔊✎ I’ve played a pretty mean trick on you…” And he laughed again. 🔊✎

“It’ll be like instead of stars I’ve given you a thousand little bells that can laugh…” 🔊✎

He laughed again. Then he became serious:

“Tonight… you know… do n’t come.” 🔊✎

“I’m not leaving you.” 🔊✎

“It’ll look like it hurts… it’ll look a bit like I’m dying. I’m not. 🔊✎ Do n’t come and see that, it’s not a good idea…” 🔊✎

“I’m not leaving you.” 🔊✎

He was still worried. 🔊✎

“I’m telling you this… it’s also because of the snake. 🔊✎ He must n’t bite you. Snakes are mean. Sometimes they bite just for fun…” 🔊✎

“I’m not leaving you.” 🔊✎

But something made him feel calmer:

“It’s true, they do n’t have enough venom for a second bite…” 🔊✎

That night, I did n’t see him depart. He’d managed to do it without making a sound. 🔊✎ When I caught him up, he was walking quickly and steadily. He just said:

“Ah! 🔊✎ You’re there…” 🔊✎

And he took my hand. 🔊✎ But he was still worried: 🔊✎

“You’re making a mistake. This is going to hurt you. I’ll look like I’m dead, but it wo n’t be true…” 🔊✎

I said nothing. 🔊✎

“You understand. It’s too far. I ca n’t bring my body with me, it’s too heavy.” 🔊✎

I said nothing. 🔊✎

“It’ll just be like an old empty shell. There’s nothing sad about old shells…” 🔊✎

I said nothing. 🔊✎

He looked a little disappointed, but he made a last effort: 🔊✎

“You know, it’ll be okay. I’ll look at the stars too. 🔊✎ All the stars will be like wells with a rusty pulley. All the stars will be there to give me a drink of water…” 🔊✎

I said nothing. 🔊✎

“It’ll be fun! You’ll have five hundred million little bells, I’ll have five hundred million fountains…” 🔊✎

And then he said nothing either, because he was crying. 🔊✎

“It’s here. You need to let me take a step on my own.” 🔊✎

And he sat down, because he was frightened. 🔊✎

He said again:

“You know… my flower… I’m responsible for her! 🔊✎ And she’s so weak! And so naïve. She just has four useless little thorns to defend herself against the world…” 🔊✎

I sat down too, because I could n’t stand up anymore. 🔊✎

He said:

“Well… that’s it…” 🔊✎

He hesitated a moment, then he got up. 🔊✎ He took a step. 🔊✎ I could n’t move. 🔊✎ All I saw was a yellow flash by his ankle. 🔊✎ He stayed there a moment, not moving. 🔊✎ He did n’t cry out. 🔊✎ Then he fell, as gently as a tree falls. 🔊✎ There was n’t even a sound, because of the sand. 🔊✎